Should one leave Kremlin chief Putin in Ukraine only free rein to give peace? This hope is harbored by many in the West. Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who has experienced the wrath of the Kremlin himself, sees it differently.

Russian opposition leader Mikhail Khodorkovsky warns of another war by Vladimir Putin should a peace be implemented in Ukraine. “After some time, he will have to start the next war,” Khodorkovsky said on the podcast Table Today on the sidelines of an event hosted by The Center for Liberal Modernity (LibMod) in Berlin. Putin has already started a war four times to solve domestic political problems. However, these remained even after a possible end to the war in Ukraine. Khodorkovsky has spent more than ten years in Russian prisons after his break with Putin in 2003.

According to the Kremlin critic, the window of opportunity for Putin to extend the war in Ukraine at the end of next year is closing. Russian society is becoming increasingly tired of war. Since the end of 2025, the war has become more noticeable to the population, mainly because of the Ukrainian attacks on the Russian infrastructure. However, Khodorkovsky does not expect an intra-Russian revolution against the ruler in the Kremlin. The overwhelming majority of Russians want to end the war, but on the terms of a Russian victory.

Khodorkovsky sharply criticizes US President Donald Trump’s Russia strategy. He sees a mistake in Trump’s recent offerings. The US President is approaching Putin without demonstrating maximum military determination. Before an agreement with Putin, Trump should have started with the delivery of Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine and put thousands more in prospect. Relevant influence on the Russian dictator would have anyway only the U.S. and China, Khodorkovsky said. Europe seems defenseless on Putin: “And what is defenseless, you eat.”

Khodorkovsky also criticizes the sanctions policy of the West. Almost five years after the start of the war, there is no clear procedure that shows those affected under which conditions they could be exempted from sanctions. In doing so, the West is missing the chance to separate influential people from the Putin regime and weaken its war machine.

Originally published in German in ntv